Forgotten Friendship
by Hitsuji Kinno
Summary: The friendship between Hotaru and Chibiusa has always defied time, but will the friendship between Sailor Saturn and Small Lady be the same? Separated by distance and time they must reconcile their differences. Not Yuri. Not Shoujo Ai. Manga.based.
1. Prologue

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"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."  
-- Richard Bach (Illusions: The Adventures Of A Reluctant Messiah)

Change is a thing one must not fight. To wish for change to stop is to wish for ones own death. And even death is a form of change. The one who should have known this best was Small Lady. She had traveled the the past to save the past and her own future to shape it to favor her. Through this she had gained the name Chibiusa. If it was not for her one Tomoe Hotaru would have died and the world would not have been saved.

This very friendship was a defiance against written events. They talked about Momoko and Kyuusuke dating, they shopped together and they shared a heritage that no one else could relate to--that of being a Sailor Soldier and also an enemy of the Sailor Soldiers. Though they were very different--as if the darkness and the light were playing together--they shared a deep bond no one could take away from them, that of friendship, as impossible as it seemed on the surface. Even if one was a Sailor Soldier of Destruction and the other was the future Sailor Moon, the symbol of purity it was never important.

However, things had to change and though in some fashion they did not wish it, they had to be separated. Chibiusa had to return to being Small Lady. Chibiusa had to return back to the future because her mother demanded it. Perhaps it was Puu herself that had told the queen of the on-coming danger in the past that made the call for the Princess important, or perhaps it was just a whim of the queen to just see her daughter again. But there it was and Small Lady obeyed.

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	2. Chapter 1: Dismayed at a Goodbye

It had only been six months since the Sailor Soldiers had gotten back from the Galaxy Cauldron. Usagi had said that Chibiusa had left for the future. Hotaru had to constantly remind herself that her best friend was gone.

When Kyuusuke and Momoko bickered yesterday and behind her small smile Hotaru had giggled a little. There was no one to share it with. When Ruruna and Naruru were talking about how the Hammer Price Shrine was going to go for a major renovation (for the second time). Though Hotaru didn't much like them, she did love hearing Chibiusa going on about them and what they were up to with their slang.

Chibiusa was the closest thing Hotaru had to a best friend. She was the only one that understood Hotaru and even though Chibiusa was popular to the point of being class president, Chibiusa never turned up her nose at anyone who was not. She united people in a way that ran in the family. Even how she'd managed the Sailor Quartet--which Hotaru had heard about--was amazing.

It was unusual for Chibiusa to say nothing. So Hotaru waited for some news from Pluto that Chibiusa had written. It had been a week now. She walked to Pluto's door, knocked and waited for the voice to reply.

Setsuna-mama was in her lab coat, re-situated at the college again, she looked at Hotaru with a faint smile.

"When is Chibiusa coming back? Has she sent any letters? Anything?" Hotaru asked.

"She's not returning--at least not like you once knew her. Her mother is having her study on the moon. When the time is right, you'll re-meet," Setsuna replied.

Hotaru paused at the door, but didn't say anymore. She returned to her school work. It was no big deal. She could write letters and have Setsuna-mama send them to the future. So after school she started to write letters.

Dear Chibiusa,

How are you? How is your studying on the moon going? I hope you're doing well.

I've been getting stronger. You know what, it's the big talk at school, but Momoko and Kyuusuke made up last week. Ruruna and Naruru sends their reguards too. They've sworn to ally themselves with Hammer Price Shrine. Funny, isn't it? They've also been asked to be models for the store.

I miss you, write soon.

Your friend,  
Tomoe Hotaru

Hotaru didn't want to bother Setsuna-mama so she saved up a shoe box full of pictures, letters and various trinkets. She knocked on Setsuna-mama's door again with the box in her hands. She crept in with her eyes cast down.

"Mama, could you send these letters to Chibiusa?"

"I cannot send these letters... She must focus on her studies. Her mother is forbidding contact and distractions. She'll want to come back. Don't worry things will work out someday," Setsuna-mama told Hotaru.

Hotaru hid her disappointment. She continued to write the letters until the day came-- they had to leave Earth. The battle that was to be fought was not a fight that Sailor Saturn could fight. Sailor Pluto told her that her memories must be erased. Hotaru, Mamoru and Usagi put it off. Hotaru was more clever. She made a box of memories, the letters she'd held onto for all those years. She could not forget her friend. She wrote a note to herself to check the box of memories that Setsuna held. In this way everytime she added to it she could remember her friend a little more. However Setsuna learned her trick.

"It's time to let go," Setsuna said gently.

"It's not fair... she saved my life, she believed in me when no one else would, why are you taking the memories of her away from me?" Hotaru cried a little child would.

"Time heals all wounds, so patience. You will find out."

And so to end Hotaru's platonically wounded heart, Setsuna took the last memories of Chibiusa from her mind. This act helped Hotaru make new friends. Sometimes she would grasp a memory that wasn't there. She would try to remember why she'd become more trusting and couldn't quite piece it together, but it didn't feel important to know. Then the war came. The new war came. Sailor Saturn left for her castle. She didn't have flashes of a pink-haired girl laughing with her in the park. She didn't remember the discovery of the Ginzuishou. She didn't remember many things. They had all faded. All memories of Chibiusa slipped. No one remembered Chibiusa. She was dead because she'd never existed.

Sent to sleep far from Earth in her Titan Castle. Sometimes the alarm would sound and Sailor Saturn would wake up. She would fight the enemies that would dare come into the solar system from the outside. And just before going to sleep she would see the lights of Earth had changed. The patterns of lights spread across the surface of the planet. This persisted for over 900 years. She was never awake long enough to miss Earth, but just long enough to feel the satisfaction that she'd saved the King and Queen and their rumored daughter.

In short in that time, Tomoe Hotaru who had grown into a wise Sailor Saturn had grown up. To her it was 6 years and a few lifetimes apart from Chibiusa, a friend she could not remember.

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	3. Chapter 2: Meeting Again

Outside was a barren wasteland and beyond that more barren wasteland and beyond that well a training center, but Small Lady wasn't really thinking about the training center. While Hotaru was gone, Small Lady still had the Sailor Quartet to talk to. But it was lonely. Especially staring out into the nothingness beyond the bubble of the Sea of Serenity.

"Small Lady... come on, we have to study more," Sailor Ceres said.

She hadn't said it in the most enthusiastic voice... but Small Lady--not Chibiusa hadn't expected her to. She was, afterall under instruction of her mother. The same mother that told her that the time gates wer to stay closed to her until she finished her lessons.

"Why can't we play? Pallas wants to play!" Sailor Pallas whispered.

"We need to become great, great Sailor Soldiers," Sailor Ceres said dragging both Small Lady and Sailor Pallas by the hand.

"Ahhh! There you are. Lazy brats," Sailor Vesta said. She had a hat on her head. Small Lady stared at the hat closely. It was from the game arcade.

"So you were slacking off again while I was doing all that hard work..."

Sailor Ceres let go of her hostages and slowly pointed to the hat on Vesta's head.

"What?"

"Uhh.."

Sailor Juno ran towards them and slapped Vesta on the back, snatched the hat and then did a forward flip. Small Lady sighed.

None of them had quite recovered from being in the circus. In a way it was useful bcause they often dodged the holograms in the simulations, but in another way it was annoying--they never ever used any magical attacks if they could dodge it, which was what Neo-Queen Serenity really wanted them to develop this week. Not beng able to discuss this kind of thing with someone who was watching it with her irked her. Hotaru was perfect for this.

She'd even take Momoko now and hear her ask what's wrong, even though she couldn't say, Momoko often brought her out shopping after class. Though it was often to the dismay of Kyuusuke when he was invited and it wasn't a real date. Small Lady giggled to herself.

Being stuck on the moon wasn't so bad, she assured herself yet again. At least she had friends to talk to. But she couldn't help wondering if Hotaru was alone. She pushed it aside as they all ran towards class.

"But Mama I finished the training..." Small Lady said in Neo-Queen Serenity's office.

"You still can't go to the past. The only time Puu could send you is in the midst of the war... and I can't risk that."

"So I won't get to see my friends again?" Small Lady asked. It wasn't a question so much as a bitter stab at what she knew to be the truth.

"You may pass them on the streets. You may see them, but they won't recognize you. You will come to understand why with time."

Small Lady was getting sick of that phrase. Taking a deep breath as her mother has taught her she asked, "And how about Hota--I mean Sailor Saturn? Can't I see her?"

She'd asked this before and always had gotten the same answer.

"She will not remember you, it will not be the same. It's better to let her rest and you can wait until you are sure of your place in court."

Small Lady knew her mother wasn't saying this to be mean. She understood enough about her mother to know how she really was--kind, gentle and wise. (Though she was recently dismayed to find out that her mother still couldn't find the proper kanji to write her letters to business officials and would often sneak off to Sailor Mercury's section of the palace to ask for the proper writing.)

Proper Ladies must wait. A proper lady does not trip on her dress and then laugh nervously. A proper lady does not question their guardians and elders. This is what had been drilled in her head for so long that she had a hard time not remembering it. However Usagi was different. Usagi was a clutz, she was stupid. But even Chibiusa realized that Usagi was in ways more of a lady than she ever could be. She knew how to relat to people. She won people's hearts. And there was nothing proper about her. She said, "But's" when she wasn't supposed to speak, hid tests from her mother and was far from submissive and quiet. A proper lady spoke when they were upset.

"Please, mama. Just this once."

The queen's lips firmed. She hid a soft inhale and exhale of what Small lady assumed was exasperation. Small Lady turned on her best, "I'm your only daughter and you want to please me" look. Usagi had used that on Ikuko-mama a few times, though it was always "I'm your only daughter and you want to forgive me" was behind it. Neo-Queen Serenity seemed to hide something of a smirk. Neo-Queen Serenity turned away for a few seconds and then looked back. Always elegant, never losing her composure. She smiled and then after a pause she nodded.

"However, it will be different. Remember that it won't be the same. She won't remember you. What is done is done and can't be undone."

Same thing. Motherly advice wrapped in a bit of an enigma. But Small Lady had expected that.

It took some time, but Sailor Saturn finally arrived. Small Lady ran towards her in the throne room and gave her a big hug, nearly missing the glaive in her struggle to meet her old friend.

"How have you been, I haven't seen you in months. Well, it must have been a while for you. You've grown, how are you? What have you been up to Hotaru-chan--I mean Sailor Saturn?"

Sailor Saturn pushed the princess away. She tilted her head and said, "Princess, I don't think we've formally met. This is inappropriate for your station."

"I'm Chibiusa."

The stiff features of Sailor Saturn, the duty-bound expression that Chibiusa was used to still stayed on her friend's face. There were no signs of that girl that liked to laugh and run hand in hand to school. That's when Small Lady felt the distance between them and felt even more alone than before. Being teased was bad and horrible. Being called not the queen's daughter. But losing a friend was devastating. What had happened to Hotaru anyway?

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Like it hate it, if you review it please give the review content. Tell me what you liked or disliked about the story, and most importantly why. Critique Tolerance 8 (10 being high, roast me). (Don't mind 10 though.) Thank you.


	4. Chapter 3: A Necessary Farewell

Sailor Saturn was mauled by a stream of pink hair and skirts from the dress. A pair of hopeful brown eyes looked up at her. The princess then began to speak rapidly to her. Sailor Saturn could make sense of only a few of them. "...months...grown, how are you?... Hotaru-chan--I mean Sailor Saturn?"

Hotaru? Sailor Saturn dismissed it. The queen might have told her daughter about those names. She pushed the princess away. This was not proper behavior for a princess. Sailor Saturn had expected more from the crown princess of Earth and the Moon.

She tilted her head and said, "Princess, I don't think we've formally met. This is inappropriate for your station."

"I'm Chibiusa."

Chibiusa? Sailor Saturn had never heard that name before. Sailor Saturn stood there trying to figure out what she should do. She then knelt before the princess.

"I am at your service, your highness. However, perhaps you have mistaken me for another person?"

Tears welled up in the princess's face. Sailor Saturn could see it in the reflection of the polished floor. Serenity Castle was clean as usual.

"Hotaru-chan you don't remember--" the princess started, but then quickly stopped. Sailor Saturn couldn't figure out what the princess was doing. If the queen had interrupted her to be the princess's playmate, then Sailor Saturn doubted the Queen's ability.

"You're right, we have never met," the princess said.

Sailor Saturn was relieved at this. She waited for a signal. The princess allowed her to stand again. There were still left over tears in the princess's eyes. Whichever Hotaru this princess wanted to see must have been important to the princess.

"I am Princess Tsukino Usagi Small Lady Serenity, the third princess of the the Moon Kingdom and crown princess of the Earth and Moon."

"I am the Sailor Soldier of Destruction, Sailor Saturn. I have been protecting the solar system against invaders. I hope you do not perceive this as rude, but I cannot linger here too long. I have to return to continue to protect the kingdom."

May I return with you?" the smaller girl asked.

Sailor Saturn hesitated. The princess was well-trained sailor soldier herself. However, as the only princess of Crystal Tokyo and the only one who could exist, Sailor Saturn wasn't sure that she wanted to take the risk.

"The Sailor Quartet will come with me. And besides I have the Pink Moon Crystal to protect me."

The princess flashed a large smile and looked like she wanted to babble again, but composed herself again. Sailor Saturn nodded her assent.

The Sailor Quartet were people that Sailor Saturn remembered. She'd freed them from the influence of Nehelenia. They were sent back to the Amazon to sleep. However they seemed to not be well-trained.

"I'm sorry to impose on you in this manner," the princess started as the Sailor Pallas batted at Sailor Vesta's hair, "but to protect the solar system and become a good queen, I must be aware of all the castles and stations."

The princess was crossing her fingers behind her back. However, Sailor Saturn pretended not to see out of respect. However, Sailor Saturn couldn't argue with the princess. The Queen had ordered her to spend time with her.

"So, yeah, call me Small Lady. For today, OK?"

Sailor Saturn had missed the first part of the princess's speech. The noise behind them had distracted Sailor Saturn.

"As you wish, princess."

Titan Castle was still intact. Sailor Saturn made sure that there were no invaders. There had been a wave last week. The lonliness and solitude of the caste called to her. It had been a long time since she'd seen her friends from Earth. The majority of them had died during the first Black Moon attack on Earth. A few did survive such as Momoko who had gotten married and had a child.

"For today, can you call me a friend?" the princess asked.

Sailor Saturn couldn't refuse the princess's whims. She hoped this would end soon. If she was going to protect the royal family and the friends that she had left on Earth, she was going to need to return to her duties. It was all that she had left.

The Sailor Quartet disappeared soon after they arrived at the castle. They were playing hide and seek. Sailor Saturn doubted this was part of their training. How could they not be serious in this situation? Their princess was in direct danger. However, Sailor Saturn didn't question them. They were young and didn't know better.

"So, since we're friends for just today, can you tell me what happened to you after you got back from the Galaxy Cauldron. I heard about it from Mama."

Sailor Saturn figured that this was what the princess was really after. Making the princess go back to a safer place was important. If she told the story, she was sure to return. Sailor Saturn took in a breath and then let it out slowly. She began her story.

Hotaru looked out the window of her high school. Getting past the exams had ensured she'd gotten into a high school. It was raining outside. Spring had come and the Hanabata festival was coming up. She rattled her pencil softly against her teeth. Despite her ease now, she knew that Crystal Tokyo had to be built, and she had to protect the inner planets from invaders. That meant saying goodbye to her friends. Those annoying people who liked to cosplay were making her eat Haagen Das ice cream again. But then there were other friends too. She smiled. There was Junko who would talk about various sports and wanted to be one of the few sports commentators in Japanese baseball. There was Akemi who wanted to become a travel agent. She wanted to learn English and marry a white guy in America. She had a lot of friends now.

But there was physical education to contend with next class. Hotaru groaned. She'd gotten better at sports, and because she didn't get hurt so often, she wasn't prone to getting hurt as much as she used to be but...

"Hey, Hotaru-chan!" a classmate called.

Hotaru looked at her classmate. "Be careful not to let the volleyball hit your face this time."

Kyuusuke snickered at this. Hotaru figured that it was revenge for Momoko constantly asking her to tag along on what should be her and Kyuusuke's dates.

He ruffled his hair. Hotaru wasn't one to take such a joke sitting down, but remembering her manners and emulating Michiru-mama she said, "When was the last time you went out on a date with your girlfriend?"

Hotaru smiled a little. She wasn't the same meek girl she had been before she met Michiru-mama, Haruka-papa and Setsuna-mama. She figured that it was because she was given a new life to start with and the ability to experience something of a real childhood.

A feeling still niggled at the corner of her mind. These days wouldn't last long. The barrier had to be protected. She would have to give up everything to protect these precious people around her.

Kyuusuke didn't reply, but only blushed and flapped his mouth a bit, but quickly resumed his seat when he saw Momoko out in the hallway.

Sometimes when she stared at Momoko something would flash in the corer of her mind, just a tiny flash that she couldn't focus on. Bt it would disappear. She always dismissed this. She was content... if only that could last.

The barrier was ready, but somehow Sailor Saturn had doubts it would hold. And what of Earth. Sh sighed it would be a few months before the attack would happen. The best she could do was prepare. Then she would have to watch. This made Sailor Saturn grimace, but she would be in a deep sleep by then and she wouldn't have to remember. Setsuna-- Sailor Pluto was going to make sure of it to preserve history, but Sailor Pluto also promised these memories back after the deep sleep. Even what she was thinking now, and her sense of time would be restored. However, Sailor Saturn couldn't leave the feeling that all of the friends she'd made would be in danger.

She'd gotten soft over the years. It used to be she could destroy te solar system at a moment's notice, but now... she couldn't put her finger on it--Something had made her change. It was probably having real parents, she though again, even if that didn't feel like the right answer.

Sailor Saturn transported back to earth and detransformed. She was supposed to say goodbye to Momoko and the others. She would never see them again. She felt a grip in her heart. A voice that was unfamiliar to her seemed to say, "There must be a way to stay friends." But there wasn't. Duty was always first. Saying goodbye would protect the entire earth against the greater threats to come from Chaos.

Momoko waved to her. Hotaru smiled, but knew it was forced as she waved to her friend.

"You're leaving tomorrow?" Momoko asked.

"Yes, I will miss you..."

"You'll write me, right?" Momoko asked.

Hotaru nodded as she lied to her. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

Something in Hotaru's heart broke. Her throat threatened to thicken. She hated lying, but it was the only way she could not hurt Momoko's feelings in this moment. She'd have to do this for all her friends.

Momoko put her hand serendipitously up to her mouth. A ring flashed on her finger. Hotaru wanted to cry. Kyuusuke must have given her a promise ring. She was going to miss the engagement party an wedding. She was going to miss it all. Hotaru turned in her lips and bit them hard. She couldn't let that get to her. She had to prtect them now.

"Don't miss your farewell party. It's at 6:00 pm tonight."

Hotaru didn't want to go. Facing everyone and lying to them wasn't something she was fond of. "Yes, I'm going to America with my family..." "No, it won't be hard..." "Michiru-mama is doing a tour there and Setsuna-mama got a job at Harvard University..." These things she'd practiced time and again. Despite the lies she couldn't lie to herself. She wished so hard for it. Duty came first.

The sleep was over. Sailor Saturn's hands trembled on the computer board. How could she forget? How could she do that? She left her friends to die. She'd-- she breathed slowly. She paused. She then started everything inside of her feeling like it would be crushed. Name-- Momoko Momohara... married to Kyuusuke... they had a child now. Akemi... dead. She couldn't see the screen. She stopped as her throat caught. She swallowed hard and typed in the other names. Most of them were dead. It was her fault. Why did this have to happen? She was now truly alone in the galaxy. She had no friends left. Even the ones she had wouldn't remember her. She had done her best, she consoled herself. The small invasions from Chaos never escaped her notice. She had done her duty. She had done her duty.

Sailor Saturn cried on her computer keyboard. What use was it when the attacks came from within the solar system?

Sailor Saturn finished her story. She didn't know why she was so open. Her tears were falling. She looked at the princess. It was inappropriate for her to do this. One Sailor Soldier's grief was not as important as protecting the princess.

Why was Small Lady crying too? The princess's tears were falling freely. in a burst she cried and hugged the taller sailor soldier.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It was my fault."

The pink hair swished back and forth burying itself into Sailor Saturn.

"I should have stayed. I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry you had to suffer."

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Like it hate it, if you review it please give the review content. Tell me what you liked or disliked about the story, and most importantly why. Critique Tolerance 8 (10 being high, roast me). (Don't mind 10 though.) Thank you.


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